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Interesting take on why she has made this such an issue when there are so many other issues that should be higher priority. My wife taught in parochial and public schools and we sent our kids to parochial schools. Even so we do not favor giving public money to private schools.

Perhaps I missed it, but I don’t recall any coverage of private schools and their reaction, including how they would use the money.

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I’m sure this is a dream come true for the private schools.

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Jan 21, 2023Liked by Dave Busiek

Thank goodness for your voice of reason.

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Jan 21, 2023Liked by Dave Busiek

Thanks, Dave. Right on!

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Right-on with this column, Dave. I believe Governor Reynolds’ “school choice” plan is the most radical legislative proposal I can remember in my lifetime. It is indeed an attack on one of the most precious and most important parts of Iowa life -- our public education system.

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Wow! That says a lot, Chuck. You’ve seen it all!

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I have a brief edit to Dave's one-sentence description: "The governor’s plan to use public tax dollars to pay private RELIGIOUS school tuition." Nearly every private school in Iowa is faith-based. This is another step toward Christian Nationalism, funded by the public. I'm not bashing parochial schools. I just don't want my tax dollars to fund them at the expense of public schools.

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Mark, I, too have nothing against religious schools, having gone to Catholic school. It was a good education. My parents had the “choice” to send us to a parochial school in the 60’s. They wouldn’t have dreamed of the state paying for our private education. Today’s parents have the same choice. I don’t know how many private schools in Iowa are religious vs secular but I suspect it’s the great majority.

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Thanks for your questions on the very "private" nature of the donors on the so-called school choice bill. And I, too, like some of your commentators, also attended public and religious schools. I believe there are R legislators who hold private mis-giving's that this is a bad idea for Iowa. That choice does not exist for all parents, whether because of their geographical location (41 counties are absent private schools), being parents of LBGT children, being parents of children of color, or working parents. I added the latter because private schools are not required to provide pre- or after-school programs, which are mandatory for Iowa's high percentage of working parents.

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Dave:

Thank you for this meaningful article. Using our tax dollars to fund private school tuition is in my opinion a misuse of such dollars. As fellow Des Moines Rotary Club Members each year we proudly give $1000 grants to 5 teachers nominated by their public-school Principal's and selected by our Award's Commitee. In those application's we see the passion for their profession and the commitment and resolve to helping their students succeed. At the Awards Program we see the teachers speak about their love of teaching. They appreciate the $1000.00 Award which many use to help their students and classrooms. If this passes, it is an insult to the teachers and public education in the State of Iowa. It is her pet project and a bad one.

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Right on, Bob. If the teachers appreciate $1,000, imagine what another $330 million could do.

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Thanks for your insights, Dave. It addresses some of the questions I've been asking about the school funding plan. Why this and why now? What is causing Reynolds to throw her political weight behind such a risky and unpopular policy that has the propensity to cause such harm to the public education system of which Iowa historically has been so proud? I remember when friends would move out of state and end up sending their kids to private schools in their new cities, because the public schools there were so bad. And now we are heading down that road. So sad that as a state we're losing our sense of responsibility to our community and to our future generations, in myriad ways.

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Your family and ours had great experiences with DMPS for our kids. It’s one of the real benefits living in Iowa. At least it was. It’s gotta be a lot harder today and drawing off these hundreds of millions won’t help. On top of the school transfer law they passed a year or two ago that lets families flee urban school districts.

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I can't believe this is Iowa. Shame, shame on republicans trying to ram this through.

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They have no shame. Diverting public funds from public education to enrich private schools that are exempt from state and federal laws is naked expediency to harvest votes. Pandering to their base costs them nothing because moderates and liberals are not coalescing behind candidates to defeat them. The Club for Growth and the rest of the right-wing super PACs want an investor class for America. Investors need servants. The Gentry doesn't provide health or education for servant's children.

You may remember many years ago when people scoffed at me because I argued they wanted nothing less than overturning Roe V Wade? I wish I got it wrong.

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You were right then, Jill, and you’re right now. If anything, they want more than overturning Roe. There was a story this weekend, I can’t remember where I read it, that even if a woman qualifies for a rape or birth defect exception, abortions are nearly impossible to obtain because doctors don’t want to risk breaking their state’s law.

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I was surprised when a friend who likes the Governor expressed reservations about this bill. My friend's daughter is a principal in an Iowa district with upper class families, but her building has a high percentage of students that are minority, poor, and generally need extra services. I reminded my friend of the many (well meaning?) families who would like to take their children to a school with fewer of these challenges. And then I asked my friend to look at the true impact of this bill: The kids left behind!

A school with fewer resources and less support from the community. Those most supportive parents? The ones who raise money for new band uniforms and lead the booster club? Many of them will be gone. The ones with children who provide the best role models for other students - some of them are gone, too. What's left? Think about it, because the Gov says this will make your daughter's school better. Tell me how?

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All I’ve heard her say is that “competition” will force schools to improve. That’s a fallacy, in my view. This plan makes it much harder to compete, for the very reasons you cite. Hard to compete with one hand tied behind your back.

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